Foederati

Foederati were members of barbarian tribes who were hired to serve as mercenaries in the Roman Army during the last few centuries of the Roman Empire. During the 1st century, the Aedui and Carnutes were the first tribes to receive Roman subsidies in exchange for military service, and the Franks, Alemanni, Goths, Sarmatians, Vandals, Alans, Goths, and Geats became foederati in the 3rd century, the Visigoths after 376, and the Alans and Burgundii during the 5th century. By the end of the Western Roman Empire, almost its entire army consisted of Germanic foederati mercenaries, and their leaders Arbogast, Stilicho, Alaric I, and Ricimer proved to be highly influential in Western Roman politics; in 476 AD, foederati leader Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus Augustus and ended the Western Roman Empire. However, the Eastern Roman Empire survived, and it replaced the Visigothic auxiliaries with new ones such as the Huns, Lombards, Gepids, Bulgars, Heruli, Tanukhids, and Arabs. The term foederati had fallen out of use by the reign of Emperor Maurice of Byzantium in the late 6th century.